Negotiated procedure for a low value contract - Safeguarding fundamental rights through effective human oversight of AI in the field of justice

The objective of the contract is to support FRA’s work in the area of AI and justice, as well as digital justice more broadly. The starting point for this research is to examine the effectiveness of human oversight in safeguarding the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (hereinafter ‘the Charter’) that may be impacted by the use of AI in the field of justice.

The contract shall combine desk research, legal analysis and qualitative interviews. 

In terms of desk research and legal analysis, the contractor should deliver a background report that includes a concise overview of European law and policy on the human oversight of AI and highlights practical challenges and examples of solutions and safeguards for ensuring effective human oversight in the justice field. 

The qualitative research should cover at least three national-level use cases of AI tools introduced in justice systems in at least three EU Member States, based on a total of 21-25 interviews with relevant professionals (Offers should specify at least three Member States that they propose to cover in the research. They must include at least two countries from the following list (Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain). Offers should also include examples of potential use cases where possible. Where specific use cases cannot yet be identified at the time of submission, indicative or hypothetical examples could be proposed (final selection to be approved by FRA after contract signature).

This should shed light on how human oversight and human review are implemented in different national contexts and highlight potential challenges to the effectiveness of human oversight and human review. The questionnaire for the interviews will be provided to the contractor. The contractor is not required to provide qualitative coding, thematic analysis or an analytical report on the interviews. Finally, the contractor should support FRA by proposing a comprehensive outline for practical guidance for justice authorities and practitioners on strengthening the effectiveness of human oversight as a key safeguard for fundamental rights in the use of AI in justice.

To the extent possible, the proposed use cases should be AI systems that would likely fall into the category of high-risk AI use cases in the area of justice (contained in Annex III, point (8a) of the EU AI Act. The use cases should also cover diverse branches of justice (civil, criminal and administrative) if possible. 

Selection criteria - Technical and professional capacity

The project team shall consist of one legal expert and one social expert. At the time of submitting their offers, candidates will need to submit at least one CV per each of the two profiles, meeting the minimum educational and professional qualifications below:

Profile 1: Legal expert with experience in fundamental rights and technology:

Qualifications and professional experience 

• University degree (at least bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in law.
• Knowledge and experience in the area of fundamental rights in the context of technology. This should include the development/use of AI and in the digitalisation of justice and/or artificial intelligence, from legal/human rights and technical perspectives, proven by at least one (1) publication in the field of AI or related topics (including articles in peer reviewed journals or authorship of reports for research projects) or participation in at least one (1) project in the field of AI or related topics that includes a fundamental rights analysis of technology-related aspects, completed in the past three (3) years.

• Excellent knowledge of English (Common European Framework of Reference (CEF) level C1)

  Profile 2: Social expert on fieldwork research:

  Qualifications and professional experience 

• University degree (at least bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in social sciences or other relevant area related to the activities assigned under this contract.
• Experience of conducting qualitative research with persons involved in justice systems, proven by at least one (1) project or publication in the past three (3) years,
• Excellent knowledge of English (Common European Framework of Reference (CEF) level C1).

In addition, during contract implementation, the contractor will need to put together a team of experts able to carry out interviews in each of the three countries selected and submit their CVs for the contracting authority’s approval. The country experts shall meet the minimum qualifications and professional experience below: 

• University degree (at least bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in law, social science, computer science or a related field. 
• At least one (1) publication in the field of AI or related topics (this can include articles in peer reviewed journals or authorship of reports for research projects) or participation in at least one (1) project in the field of AI or related topics. 
• Proof of having done legal research on the country/countries covered (i.e. at least one (1) publication or one (1) project covering the respective country). 
• Good knowledge of the languages spoken in the country/countries covered (Common European Framework of Reference (CEF) level B2) and fluent in English (CEF level C1). 

The same person may cover more than one country, provided that they have proven experience working in the language(s) of each country concerned and have conducted research on each of those countries.

The experts proposed for the roles of Legal expert and Social expert may also act as country experts for one or more countries, provided that they meet the requirements set out above and have experience working in the relevant language(s) and conducting research in the country or countries concerned.

The qualifications and professional experience of the country experts is not a selection criterion and therefore, candidates will not need to present the CVs of the country experts at the time of submitting their offers. 

No documents proving the fulfilment of these criteria are requested at this stage. Participation in this negotiated procedure for a low value contract is open to natural and legal persons falling within the scope of the EU Treaties (this includes all economic operators established in the European Union) and to all natural and legal persons established in a third country which has a special agreement with the Union in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement. FRA is not part of the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) concluded within the World Trade Organisation. Therefore, the procurement procedure is not open to candidates from GPA countries.

If you would like to participate in this negotiated procedure, please register your interest by e- mail to procurement@fra.europa.eu, including your contact details (name, organisation, address, country and e-mail) before 16/10/2026 (17:00 CEST [GMT +02:00]).

Please note that registration of interest to participate in the above-mentioned procedure does not give rise to any legitimate expectations to be invited.